EDS 240: Discussion 5

Beyond fundamental chart types

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Week 5 | February 4^th, 2025

We’ve covered a number of “fundamental charts”

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Distributions

• histograms
• density plots
• ridgeline plots
• box plots
• violin plots

Evolution

• line charts
• area plots

Rankings

• bar plots
• lollipop plots
• dumbbell plots

Numeric relationships

• scatter plots
• 2d density plots

Familiarity with these chart types and when it’s appropriate to use them is super important! They appear often in scientific literature, news / media outlets, reports, etc.

But they only scratch the surface of data viz possibilities.

Explore some cool new chart types!

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The following slides showcase some examples of chart types that we haven’t explored yet in lecture, or are a sort of reimagination of the chart types we have discussed.

With a partner, explore and discuss some of the following data viz (or bring your own; check out the resources page if you’re looking for inspiration). Some question prompts to get you started:

• what do you find effective about this data viz?
• is there any information that’s lost or difficult to gather when presenting data in this way?
• what other chart types might you use to display these same data? what do you see as pros / cons of these various options?
• what aspects do you really love? why?

Everyone should be prepared to share your thoughts with the class!

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